Welcome to the Core 4! My name is Michael aka @MadnessDFS on Twitter, make sure to give me a follow as I’ll occasionally make updates to the article throughout the day as news breaks. But, you’ll mostly find me in our VIP coaching forums where I provide detailed lineup maneuvers and answer all lineup questions. With that said, let’s get it started!
Purpose of the Core 4: These four players are guys that I want to lock into my cash game lineups and if doing multi-entry, using the Domination Station lock them in or set high exposure percentages to them. These are players that I see as underpriced, in great matchups, in play because of injuries, increased usage, etc. I also need to mention that these plays are normally geared toward Draftkings pricing and scoring, I’m not a huge fan of NBA for Fanduel, so if you see my list has three small forwards or two centers, etc. it’s because of the multi-position eligibility on Draftkings. With that said, let’s jump right into it!
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Brandon Clarke (PF/C) – $4,800
The first member of my core is Mr. Brandon Clarke who will likely see an expanded role as Jaren Jackson Jr. has been suspended for this game. Let me tell you, I absolutely love this game for DFS and fantasy purposes and you should as well as it has an implied total of 241 and has a 5.5 point spread. If we take Jaren Jackson off the court, Brandon Clarke is looking at a 20% usage rate and 1.14 fantasy points per minute. If we pull up the Research Station he is projected to play 31 minutes at this point, I will take 1.14 points per minute on 30 minutes out of a $4.8k player all day long. Not to mention that he’s really been in good form as well, he’s scored 30+ fantasy points in two of his last four games. I also think there’s a real chance that both teams go small here as the Pels really don’t have a true center and may run Zion out there which would set up perfectly for Clarke to get some center run on the Grizzlies. I wrote this in the Full Court Press article, but I can see a scenario where Jonas Valanciunas gets run off the court due to the pace that this game should have. I love me some Brandon Clarke tonight. ***UPDATE*** – as I’m writing this he’s been ruled a GTD, keep an eye on this situation as we get closer to lock.
Jonas Valanciunas (C) – $6,300
So, the original first member of the core, Brandon Clarke, was ruled as doubtful hence the update. I was worried that Valanciunas would get run off the court with how fast I expect this game to be meaning Clarke would fill in at the five, but they likely don’t have a choice now. The Grizzlies now don’t have a legit backup center option outside of a combination of Jae Crowder and Josh Jackson who are both undersized, Valanciunas should play all the minutes he can handle here. With both Jackson and Clarke off the court this season, Valanciunas has a 24.5% usage rate and 1.33 fantasy points per minute. We’ve seen him put up massive ceiling games already this season and in a game against a pretty brutal defensive unit, I’ll be firing up JoeVal here the price is too cheap for the expanded role he should play tonight. My bold call of the day is that Joe Val goes for 10x (63 fantasy points) on DraftKings today.
LeBron James (PG/SF) – $10,300
This is the first game back for LeBron and the Lakers since the passing of Kobe Bryant and will be played at the Staples Center which will be packed as they pay tribute to Kobe. This is a narrative that I will fully buy into, LeBron was very close to Kobe and now feels like he needs to lift the city up after such a terrible event. I don’t mean to use the passing of Bryant as a reason to play LeBron but I just see him going out and giving the city a much-needed lift. Now, this isn’t the only reason to love James tonight, he’s averaging 57.8 DraftKings points per game in two matchups with the Blazers this season. He has a ridiculous And1 rating of 20.6 here and the Blazers have been pretty terrible on defense. Love this spot for Bron and he feels too cheap, go out and do it for #24 my man. #MambaMentality
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Jalen Brunson (PG/SG) – $3,800
This feels like a don’t get cute spot for Brunson and the Mavericks tonight. Luka Doncic has already been ruled out for this game which will open up a ton of usage and minutes in that Mavs backcourt. With Doncic off the court, I expect we see Brunson get the start and has a 22.2% usage rate and 1.04 fantasy points per minute. This is also a big pace up spot for the Mavs as they have a +5.5 pace bump against a fast-paced Rockets team. The price is just too cheap for the role he should play tonight, the Research Station has him projected to 8.2x his salary and playing around 30 minutes. Lock in the value for cash games and get different elsewhere in GPPs.
Kristaps Porzingis (PF/C) – $6,800
We’re going to go right back to the Mavs here with the unicorn! I love this spot for Porzingis with Doncic already ruled out. It feels similar to Brunson, but Brunson is at a price where he really can’t kill you, there’s an outside chance that Porzingis can dud, but I love him. With Doncic off the court this season he has a 28.6% usage rate and 1.38 fantasy points per minute. In four games this season without Doncic, Porzingis is averaging 50.94 DraftKings points per game. If gets anywhere near that production tonight you will want him in your lineup as he would smash value. Clint Capela is a tough matchup down low, but I think he can stretch him out and get him away from the basket, I will be all over Kristaps tonight. With these four players in your lineup you are left with a cool $6,075 per player which is more than manageable to construct the rest of your lineup, let’s roll!
*** I want to make a quick caveat, the Core 4 is a first look core, things tend to change throughout the day in the NBA. I will update the core if I am able or if need be. At the very least I will make it known in the slack chat! ***
As always I appreciate everyone who gave the article a read! Feel free to mix it up with me in our coaching forums as news breaks and lock approaches. If you don’t know about them, our two newest pages contain Breaking News and our exclusive Coaches’ Picks……both invaluable for late-breaking news and pivots in NBA.
